General Articles - Product Reviews

T&T Customs Y-Link Extreme Duty Long Arm Upgrade

Article written by Suave

Date Added: 05/04/2006

What if I told you that you could have your pie AND eat it too?

Like many of us, you build your Jeep over time and it becomes a mix and match of parts, or the lift you purchased simply isn't that good, resulting in one or more of the following: bumpsteer, death wobble, binding, shortened wheelbase, etc. The CrawlingGroceryGetter (CGG) pretty much suffered from all of these, and we wanted a solution.

T&T Customs offers their Extreme Duty Long Arm Upgrade Kit for 1984-2001 Cherokees in the lift range of 4-6". This kit is a "do-it-yourself" requiring a little cutting or grinding to remove the lower control arm brackets from the unibody, but NO welding.

3 additional dual bolt attachment points that
use sleeves through the unibody to create the
most durable attachment points possible.

Y-Link Lower Control Arm

Maximum Tire Clearance (No more rubbing against control arms when turning)

Precision bent 1.75" x .250 1020 DOM tubing

Large 2" bushing at axle end of LCA

Rubicon Express Large Flex Joint at chassis end of LCA

Y-Link Upper (integrated) Control Arm

Fully Adjustable

Direct thread 1.5" x .250 DOM tubing

Large 2" bushing at LCA end

Pinion / Caster adjustment +/- 10 deg

The word from T&T Customs

T&T Custom?s Extreme Duty Long Arm Upgrade kit is the most advanced, best performing suspension upgrade available for the Jeep? XJ. Designed from our XD Belly Pan as a complete replacement cross member and control arm upgrade, the Extreme Duty kit improves control arm and steering geometry for lifted XJ?s resulting in better road and trail performance.

T&T Customs only offers the highest quality components available. Each of the components is designed to increase off road potential without sacrificing street handling or safety. We suggest using quality springs, shocks and accessories from a reputable manufacturer.

The word of MoabJeeper Magazine
What did this kit do for the CGG? The handling was phenomenal! On road the handling was almost car-like; no bumpsteer, death wobble or sloppiness we had grown accustomed to. At speeds (much) higher than officer-friendly would have liked, the suspension was dead on and without jitters.

Off-road was even more impressive. The Y-Link? allowed for bind free articulation right up until we ran out of both shock and brake line due to improved drop.

Adventure Bob hijacks the CrawlingGroceryGetter

This year Sheri (owner) "let" me drive the CGG over the Triple Threat so I could see how the T&T long arm changed the handling of her Jeep compared to her previous lift. The first thing I noticed was the amount of smooth travel this mod gave the Cherokee. Poison Spyder and Golden Spike trails are littered with steps, drops, holes, and off-camber attacks that I just had to hit, and the kit is flexible enough that until you begin hitting bumps at least half a wheel high, you barely notice them. While testing, I found that this long arm kit out-flexes everything: the brake lines and shocks included. I?m interested in what the handling off-road will be like once the travel limits are removed from Sheri?s Jeep.

Control and steering were better than her previous lift, and the front end felt more solid. This became very apparent when we cleared the trail and returned to highway mode. I would say that her Jeep now drives as good as or better than it did before we started modifying it last year.

I would also like to ramp the CGG to get an objective measure of just how much the flex has changed. Wheeling the same vehicle with another brand?s lift kit and then the T&T Customs is a very telling test. While limited by some mechanicals, my test to date tells me that a Cherokee owner would be very happy with the T&T Customs Long Arm Upgrade.

**Product Update**

T&T Customs recently updated the lower control arms of their Y-Link? Long Arm Upgrade kit. The lower control arms now ship with T&T Customs NXT Joint? with the largest fine thread adjustment mechanism in the industry, 1.375? ? 12. With 2.500? of usable adjustment length all reasonable lift heights over 4? are now accommodated. T&T Customs Y-Link? Arms are shipped to fit the original design lift range of 4? ? 6? and at this length offer 3.000? of positive thread engagement. For those that run their Cherokees at higher lift heights, there is 2.000? of extra adjustable length available in the mechanism to maintain proper wheelbase dimensions.

Another more subtle improvement to the design is the addition of a larger more compliant bushing at the axle end of the lower control arm which increases flex potential and durability.

The original bent high clearance Y-Link? control arms are still the same superior design ? only better. Forget the rest, get the best.

Final Thoughts

The kit performed flawlessly and exceeded our expectations. For this reason we want to point out a few points to anyone considering this kit.

1. Do not buy shocks until after the kit is installed. Like MoabJeeper, we expect you will find plenty more articulation, and purchasing shocks that "should" be correct for a 4-6" lift may be too short.

2. Cough up the money and get those extended brake lines. You may have used one of those brake line relocator brackets and even moved the mounting position to avoid buying the extended lines. With the newly found articulation you WILL RUN SHORT on brakeline.

3. This kit does not come with springs.

So there it is, car-like on road handling and flex monster capability off-road, making it possible for you to have your pie and eat it too.

Our
Thank You's!

MoabJeeper Magazine would like to thank Bob Levenhagen and the good people of T&T Customs for the opportunity to slam, bash and ram (note scars in the pictures) their Extreme Duty Long Arm Upgrade Kit into the rocks of Moab.